Ex-defence minister’s ‘fake testimony’ issue won’t be investigated
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, July 24
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office says that they will not investigate the statement made by former Defence Minister of Georgia Irakli Okruashvili made on Monday that “former Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze demanded from him to give a testimony on the Rustavi 2 case in the way he gave in 2014.”
The Prosecutor’s Office says that Okruashvili did not mention the words “fake testimony,” and that is why the investigation will not take place.
Okruashvili says that he was seeking support from the Georgian Dream ruling party in 2014 Gori mayoral elections and gave the testimony on the Rustavi 2 case in exchange for the support.
In the testimony Okruashvili says that former President Mikheil Saakashvili demanded the seizure of Rustavi 2 from its lawful owners and founders David Dvali and Jarji Akimidze back in 2004, shortly after the Rose Revolution.
Dvali and Akimidze say that Okruashvili, who was Prosecutor General that time, was directly involved in the “illegality.”
“I contacted Ivanishvili [founder of the Georgia Dream ruling party] and Irakli Garibashvili [then Prime Minister] via former Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili. Shotadze phoned me and told me that the Georgian Dream ruling party would have supported me in the elections if I gave the testimony in the way I gave in April 2014,” Okruashvili said.
Usupashvili stated that Okruashvili tried to get him involved in the “dirty mess.”
He confirmed that Okruashvili contacted him in 2014 and asked to give two messages to Ivanishvili and Garibashvili.
“These messages were: I am ready to give an important testimony, and I want the cooperation with the ruling party. I delivered the messages and returned the answer: regarding the testimony, Shotadze will contact you, as for the cooperation we will discuss it,” Usupashvili says.
Usupashvili, who now chairs an opposition Movement for Building, says that there was nothing unusual or suspicious in the messages and that he had no mind that Okruashvili intended to give a “fake testimony” in exchange for the support.
Okruashvili says that he bought Rustavi 2 in 2004 with seven million USD, while in office, “attracting funds through private contacts.”
With the statement, he is challenging the verdicts delivered by Georgian courts and the European Court of Human Rights in 2017 and 2019, which returned 100 per cent of shares of Rustavi 2 to businessman Kibar Khalvashi.
Khalvashi argued that the channel was illegally seized from him in 2006, by the United National Movement government.
Okruashvili says that Khalvashi, who was his closest ally, acted with his name in the purchase deal of Rustavi 2 in 2004 and was a nominal figure.
He says that he has a document signed by Khalvashi in 2010 in Germany, in which Khalvashi confirms that Okruashvili and not himself bough the channel in 2004.
Khalvashi says the document is fake.
Currently, Okruashvili says that the channel was not illegally seized from Dvali and Akimidze and that he paid them 1.2 million USD in 2004.
Dvali and Akimidze confirm the payment but say that 1.2 million USD for 60 percent of shares of Rustavi 2 meant its illegal seizure, as the cost of the channel shares was much higher.
The duo says that the channel must be returned to them, as they are founders who lost their shares due to the government pressure.
Okruashvili served as prosecutor general, interior and defence ministers under the United National Movement until 2007.
He was dismissed as defence minister in 2006 and went into the opposition of Saakashvili. He was detained in 2007 on corruption charges and was shortly allowed to leave for France, where he lived until the Georgian Dream coalition defeated the United National Movement in 2012.
Okruashvili says that he will file a lawsuit against Khalvashi to return the channel.
